Joseph Duggar files motion to allow him to venture within 500 feet of his alleged victim’s former home

Joseph Duggar has filed a request to venture within 500 feet of his alleged victim’s home, which the motion says has been abandoned by the family.

Duggar, 31, was arrested on child molestation charges in March by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. They alleged that, during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City, Duggar had repeatedly asked a girl to sit on his lap and had “manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals.”

The father of the girl, who’s now 14, confronted Duggar on the day of his arrest, and Duggar admitted guilt, according to law enforcement.

In court, the reality TV star, who appeared on Duggar family shows such as TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, had been ordered to stay at least 500 feet away from the alleged victim. He has pleaded not guilty.

Duggar now asks for permission to visit six of his properties that are within that distance because, his team argues in documents viewed by Entertainment Weekly, “the alleged victim and her family have abandoned their residence, no longer residing at the previously listed address.”

According to the motion, Duggar seeks to work on several of his properties, doing maintenance including mowing, landscaping, repairing sheetrock, painting, and installing flooring.

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“The continued No Contact Order in its present form is causing issues with the Defendant being able to maintain the properties listed herein,” the court filing states. “The Defendant is not requesting contact with the alleged victim, nor to be within 500 feet of the alleged victim, as the alleged victim abandoned the property previously listed as the alleged victim’s residence.”

The filing comes three days after his lawyer filed a motion to allow Duggar unsupervised visits with his children. As part of his release from jail, Duggar was ordered not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.

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He and his wife, Kendra, share four children that fit that description.

Duggar and his wife both face charges from the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas on four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, second degree, and four counts of false imprisonment, second degree, which were brought against them two days after his other arrest. These charges are unrelated to the ones Duggar is facing in Florida.

The pre-trial hearing in the child molestation case has been set for July 14.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.